1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to drive mechanisms for fishing reels and more particularly to a variable speed driving mechanism for fishing reels.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has heretofore been proposed as shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 840,055 to Ferguson, to provide a change speed gear arrangement for use in automobiles, wherein slidable gears are provided with external teeth, which can engage internal teeth on other gears to change the speed of the output shafts.
No comparable structure useful with fishing reels is suggested in Ferguson.
The U.S. Pat. No. 897,261 to Duryea, discloses a transmission mechanism which includes an internal gear 5 mounted to shaft 2 which can be engaged by gears 9, 10 when moved by gear shifter 12. No comparable structure useful with fishing reels is suggested by Duryea.
The U.S. Pat. No. 2,150,088 to White, discloses a fishing reel which includes a spool and a drive gear mechanism carried in one end plate. The mechanism includes gears 37, 38, 39, 40 which are rotatable, but not movable in a longitudinal direction and change in speed is obtained by lengthwise shifting of a shaft from the driving handle, which has a pin 42 which selectively engages notches 41 in the gears 39, 40 to determine which sets of gears and therefore at which speed the spool is driven.
The U.S. Pat. No. 2,184,149 to Marr, discloses a fishing reel similar to White, which includes a gear change mechanism having a shaft 36 extending inwardly from a driving handle 26 with a large gear 46 and a small gear 44 fixed to the shaft. A shaft 32 carries a spool 24 for winding of line thereon.
The shaft 32 has gears 48 and 50 freely rotatable thereon but adapted to be selectively coupled with shaft 32 by longitudinal movement of a selector key 54. The selector 54 includes a locking element 56 which can engage in slots 60 in either gear 48 or 50 to couple to the shaft 32, and through engagement with gear 44 or 46 to drive shaft 32 at different speeds.
No shiftable gears, with positive locking engagement are provided in Marr.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,390,147 to Zuckerman, discloses a three speed drive mechanism for fishing reels, which includes a frame supporting a spool carried on a shaft which has a driven spool gear. A gear housing is carried on the frame, which has three drive gears of varying diameter meshed with the spool drive gear, and with a rotatable crank plate carrying a crank handle selectively engageble with a desired one of the drive gears to cause the spool to be driven at the desired speed.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,478,949 to Henze and the U.S. Pat. No. 3,425,644 to Griste disclose fishing reels with friction drags which provide for winding of the reels, or for free spool rotation for casting as desired, and which is effected by axial shifting of the spool shaft.
No gear shifting is disclosed or contemplated in said Henze and Griste patents.
The drive mechanism of my invention does not suffer from the shortcomings of prior structures and provides many positive advantages.